Only when the weather falls will Chelsea be relegated this season. However, if they have to fall into the relegation race, it is not surprising for Graham Potter and his team when looking at their current form.
Chelsea are 11 points behind 4th-placed Tottenham. The Blues have 14 more matches to hope for a miracle, thereby finishing in the Top 4 after round 38. However, they are only 9 points ahead of 17th-placed Leeds. Looking up and down the rankings, Chelsea are racing.
If only counting the last 14 matches of the Premier League, Chelsea is ranked 16th with only 12 points, 3 points more than the bottom team Bournemouth. After the defeat to Southampton, all worst scenarios were foreseen. Also in the most recent 14-match rankings, teams that were struggling a few months ago like Leicester or Nottingham are having a comeback in form, thereby pushing Chelsea even deeper into the mud.
Potter's Chelsea are now their worst side in 30 years in terms of winning percentage.
In the last two transfer windows, coach Todd Boehly's team has spent up to 500 million pounds to buy players and the reality on the field is completely opposite. When he first took charge, Potter's ability to constantly change the squad and replace players like when he was at Brighton was commented as very positive, as someone with good performance ability. Now, that is only painted with the image of a puppet master like a chicken with hair.
Potter made six substitutions against So'ton compared to the Champions League match against Dortmund but things were still at a standstill. Looking at the big picture, in the last 17 matches of The Blues, the English strategist had up to 67 changes in the starting lineup. There are two sides to every story. Potter making so many substitutions can be seen as being looking for a way to shape the best version of the squad. On the contrary, things are getting more complicated.
Of course, Chelsea fans are out of patience. In the first half of the match against Southampton, they continuously shouted loudly at Potter to resign as soon as possible. The Blues fans say that Potter is like a shady rooster, not knowing what he will have to do at this club.
According to The Athletic, the Chelsea owners are still in a certain position to support Potter because they have just signed a 5-year contract with the Brighton captain not long ago. After the defeats to So'ton and Spurs, the atmosphere became increasingly heavy and the patience of the American owners was no longer there.
Potter himself felt how much the current weight was on his shoulders. After the loss to Southampton, he said he was not a fool and was trying to continue to move the team forward. However, can anyone understand those words when achievements are getting worse and worse like this?
